A year later, lessons of Parkland shooting are still being learned
It is hard to believe a year has passed since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Things will never be the same for the victims’ families, for affected students, and for every Floridian.
The shocking images, the horrifying feelings, the unbridled outpouring of grief and outrage – these are all still so fresh in our minds as we reach the sad one-year milestone since that senseless, heartbreaking day. I visited the crime scene just 48 hours after the shooting occurred, and I will carry that experience with me for the rest of my life.
The past 12 months have seen so much said and done in response. Laws have been enacted, policies adopted, commissions convened. As we look back and remember the 17 people who lost their lives and the numerous others who suffered physical or psychological wounds at the school that day, two developments strike me as enduring legacies of the shootings.
The most evident is the heightened awareness of safety issues, which gave rise to new laws and policies on everything from school safety to mental health. The shooting occurred near the end of the 2018 legislative session, and lawmakers joined together to respond quickly with important legislative reforms. We took steps to shore up school security, close gaps in communications and response among first responders, enhance policies regarding mental health screening of young Floridians, and provide funding for additional safe school officers and others trained to respond to threats. The legislation also created a special commission, including Marjory Stoneman Douglas parents, that continues to explore important school safety issues.
While much has been done, much more needs to be accomplished to protect our children and safeguard our schools.
With the start of the 2019 legislative session just weeks away, senators have been reviewing the commission’s initial recommendations and hearing public testimony on how we can build on the successful policies previously passed while re-examining the ones that fell short. Those conversations have resulted in legislation to implement the commission’s recommendations, which will be heard in the Senate Committee on Education this week. I look forward to this critical school safety legislation moving through the legislative process this session, leading to meaningful policy and budget enhancements Floridians demand and deserve.
The second, and more unexpected, legacy of the shooting is the way the events of that day mobilized young Floridians and their peers across the nation into a force for positive change. The students from Parkland quickly transformed their fear and hurt, first to anger and then to action. They came in droves to Tallahassee and played a central role in prompting the Legislature’s response – and then they turned their attention to political action. Youth participation changed the dynamic of last year’s elections and continues to shape the dialogue in Tallahassee and around the nation.
I said last year, and feel even more strongly today, that the safety of our children is an issue that must always transcend politics. In the Legislature, we must all be open to new ideas and new approaches, working together to make our schools the safest learning environments possible.
Florida Sen. Bill Galvano, a Republican from Bradenton, is President of the Florida Senate. He was the author and Senate sponsor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act.
While much has been done, much more needs to be accomplished to protect our children and safeguard our schools.